Kitchen renovation in the GTA, with only 2 days without a kitchen

What a kitchen renovation includes

A kitchen renovation replaces the parts of the room you use and see every day: cabinets, countertops, sink and faucet, backsplash, flooring, and lighting. Depending on what you want, it can also change how the room is laid out by adding an island, moving the sink or range, or opening a wall to the dining or family room.

We handle the project from the first sketch to the final walkthrough. That covers design, the 3D rendering, permits where they are needed, demolition, plumbing, electrical, cabinet installation, countertops, tile, flooring, and painting.

Who it’s for

Most of our kitchen clients are homeowners in Oakville and similar GTA communities with a kitchen that has reached the end of its life. The house is fine; the kitchen is dated, short on storage, or closed off from the rest of the main floor.

They usually come to us with two worries. The first is cost. The second, and often the bigger one, is being without a working kitchen for weeks. This page answers both.

Signs your kitchen is due

• Cabinet doors sag, drawers stick, and the boxes are swollen or worn at the edges.
• The countertop is chipped, stained, or lifting at the seams.
• There is never enough storage, and the counters are always full.
• Two people cannot cook at the same time without getting in each other’s way.
• The kitchen is cut off from the room where the family actually spends time.
• Lighting is one fixture in the middle of the ceiling.
• You are replacing appliances and the new ones don’t fit the old openings.

One or two of these can be fixed with a repair. Several together usually mean a renovation is the better use of money.

How we keep your kitchen usable

Many contractors start demolition soon after the contract is signed, then design, order, and wait while the room sits empty. That is where the stories of months without a kitchen come from.

We work the other way around. We don’t demolish at contract signing. Your old kitchen stays in place, and you keep cooking in it, through the whole design stage. Only when the design is approved do we schedule the build, and then demolition and installation happen back to back:

1. Design and sign-off. Your old kitchen is untouched. You review the design, ask for changes, and approve it.
2. Demolition and preparation. These start 7 to 9 days after design approval.
3. Cabinets. Installed in one day.
4. Countertops and everything else. The next day.

In total, you are without a working kitchen for 2 days.

For a fuller picture of each stage, read how long a kitchen renovation takes.

Our process, step by step

1. Phone conversation. You tell us about the kitchen, what bothers you, and roughly what you want to spend.
2. Free site visit. We come to your home, measure, and look at what is behind the decisions: where the plumbing runs, which walls carry load, how old the wiring is.
3. Budget and design. We agree on a realistic budget first, then design to it, working from your mood board and inspiration photos.
4. 3D rendering. On request, we produce a full 3D rendering so you can see cabinets, colours, and layout before committing.
5. Approval. Nothing is removed from your home until you have approved the design.
6. Build. Demolition, preparation, cabinets, countertops, and finishing, scheduled back to back.

The full sequence is on our renovation process page.

Permits for kitchen renovations

A like-for-like kitchen, with new cabinets, counters, and fixtures in the same positions, does not normally need a building permit in Ontario. You will need one if the work includes:

• removing or altering a load-bearing wall,
• adding plumbing fixtures or relocating drains,
• changing ductwork, including some range hood installations that alter the heating system, or
• creating or enlarging a window or door opening.

Electrical work is handled separately and inspected through the Electrical Safety Authority. Each city has its own building department and its own review times, which we cover on our city pages for Oakville, Mississauga, and Toronto, and in our guide to renovation permits in Ontario.

Setting a budget

“How much does a kitchen renovation cost?” is the first question nearly every client asks, so we publish our price tiers below instead of making you call to find out. The short version: decide what you can comfortably spend, tell us early, and we will show you what that budget can build. Our kitchen renovation cost guide explains where the money goes.